PRESS BOX. IN BRIEF

Press Box. In Brief

August 18, 2006|By Tribune news services

Nastia Liukin, trying to defend her U.S. gymnastics championship in St. Paul, finished the preliminaries with 62.6 points in the sport's new scoring system to take a whopping 1.1-point lead over Natasha Kelley and 1.55 points ahead of reigning world champ Chellsie Memmel.

- The Evgeni Malkin mystery finally ended as the Penguins' draft pick surfaced in Los Angeles with his agent, five days after slipping away from his Russian Super League team during training camp in Helsinki, Finland, and vanishing from sight.

- Indianapolis Speedway CEO Tony George signed a deal with Formula One for a one-year extension of the U.S. Grand Prix.

- The Mexican soccer federation has instituted a ban to halt the recent trend of players celebrating by donning masks, often similar to those used by professional wrestlers.